The Golden State Warriors, UCSF and Mayor Ed Lee have reached an agreement on the most critical issues surrounding the Golden State Warriors sports and entertainment center in Mission Bay!

In July, UCSF announced qualified support for the Warriors arena plan, saying the project would be a “win-win”– if the City and the team were able to adequately address the university’s concerns, mostly around traffic, access to the hospitals, and overlapping events at nearby AT&T Park. Since that time, Mayor Lee has convened a series of discussions to resolve those concerns, and today, the three parties reached preliminary agreement on a variety of measures to effectively manage traffic, facilitate access to the hospital, and protect patient safety.

As part of the agreement, a Mission Bay Transportation Improvement Fund will be established. The new Fund – which will be paid for and fully funded solely by new revenues from the Warriors project itself – is designed to guarantee that resources will be in place to manage the flow of visitors, traffic and transit in the area around the arena. A “special circumstances cap” will also be created. This limits the number of events in special circumstances if traffic on key hospital access routes violates a predetermined standard.

The Warriors arena is already set to generate more than $27 million in upfront funds for transportation and infrastructure improvements in Mission Bay (along with $125 million for parks, open space and affordable housing). The new Mission Bay Transportation Improvement Fund will ensure that at least another $10 million will be available annually to spend on traffic mitigations, for the life of the arena, for things like an expanded light rail station, four new light rail cars dedicated to serving the arena, increased service before and after events, ample traffic control officers throughout the neighborhood during events, and enhanced police patrols and street cleaning operations on event days.

The new fund also pays for a “Local Access Plan” designed to keep certain streets clear of event traffic to allow UCSF, local businesses and residents smooth access at all times.

“We know if we work together, we’ll be able to achieve everyone’s goals,” said Warriors President Rick Welts. “We’ve got the measures in place to keep the neighborhood moving, to make sure it works for residents, workers and visitors alike. But we’re prepared to go the extra mile – to guard against worst-case scenarios – because we know it’s important to UCSF and the folks that live in Mission Bay. That’s part of being a good neighbor.”